Pillar 3 (Individual pensions)

These additional private schemes are voluntary and are designed to close individual gaps in provision. The law promotes pension savings in Pillar 3 through tax incentives.

The state offers tax incentives to persons who pay into third pillar 3a private pensions. The prerequisite for benefiting from the pillar 3a tax relief is to be gainfully employed. If you belong to a pension fund, you can deduct up to CHF 6'682 (last updated in 2011) per year from your taxable income. If you do not belong to a pension fund, for example if you are self-employed, you can pay an amount of up to CHF 33'408 CHF per year into a third pillar 3a pension fund.

Payout of the third pillar You can receive benefits from your 61st birthday if you are a man or from your 60th birthday if you are a woman and at the latest on the day before your 66th birthday if you are a man or the day before your 65th birthday if you are a woman. If you have a third pillar pension, and can prove that you are still gainfully employed, you can postpone the payout of benefits up to a maximum of five years after reaching the official old age pension retirement age.

An early payout of the third pillar pension is possible in particular in the following cases: